The Wampanoags in the seventeenth century : $b An ethnohistorical surveyMarten, Catherine
History
The Wampanoags in the seventeenth century : $b An ethnohistorical survey
Marten, Catherine
Indians of North America -- New England -- History -- 17th century; Wampanoag Indians
=Mining and Quarrying=: Both soapstones for bowls and pipes and
native copper for ornaments were obtained aboriginally by New England
Indian groups. So far as is known, however, the Wampanoags did none
of the extraction of these materials themselves. They obtained either
the materials or the finished products through trade.[253]
Pigments were probably obtained at various local outcroppings.
Limonite furnished yellow; hematite served for some of the reds. The
stone used for tools and weapons—quartz and slate—was also locally
occurring material.[254] Clay for potting was available in the
Plymouth area.[255]
PROCESSING OF BASIC MATERIALS
There is documentary evidence on the manufacture of only a few of
the articles fashioned by the Indians out of the products of their
environment. In most cases this evidence is fragmentary. What is
available is discussed below:
=Stonecarving=: Both pipes and bowls were carved out of soapstone.
As far as is known, most of this work was done by the Narragansetts
in Rhode Island; their products were traded into the Plymouth area.
Bowls of soapstone were produced wholly or in part at the quarry
where the raw material was obtained. Working with picks and chisels
of harder stone (later, presumably, with metal tools) the craftsman
would rough out the general shape of the bowl, bottom side up, while
it was still attached to the parent block. Then he would begin
chipping away underneath the bowl and by inserting a wedge remove it
from the quarry. The inside of the bowl was then hollowed out with
smaller stone adzes and chisels.[256]
Soapstone pipes required considerable skill to manufacture, owing
to their small size. Some of these were elaborately ornamented with
carved figures, but authorities are still not sure whether the more
elaborate pipes were locally made or traded into the Narragansett
territory from elsewhere.[257] Shaping and drilling were originally
done with stone tools, but steel drills were later used in pipe
manufacture.[258]
=Metallurgy=: The Indians learned to cast metal from the English.
Pewter, brass, and presumably lead (for shot) were cast into
ornaments, buttons, ammunition, and gun parts.[259]
Buttons and other small ornaments were cast out of pewter using
one-piece moulds carved from soft stone. Finishing was done by
trimming and grinding away the rough edges. The eyes of buttons were
made by trimming the metal with a knife.[260]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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